State House News Service
Affiliated News Services LLP

State House News Service is an independent, privately owned wire service covering Massachusetts government in depth. It''s staff of six tries to serve as a primary source of information on legislation, issues and background, in additional to producing traditional news copy. Subscribers put its work to a wide variety of uses - from tracking one specific bill or issue, to keeping tabs on the general flow of State House politics. Most subscribers do both - keep up with the big picture while following the progress of their items of special interest.

The service claims 300 subscribers (at Feb. 6, 2006) including news organizations, lobbyists, law firms, corporations, non-profits and government agencies. The State House press corps uses the News Service, as do the House and Senate, major executive agencies, and the judiciary. Says its website: "Our subscribers are a high-powered and highly varied group: Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conservatives, with every kind of policy agenda and information need."

The News Service started just after the turn of the century when one member of the press corps began copying every session of the House and Senate sessions (in pencil) and selling the copies to other reporters, so they wouldn''t have to attend every moment. From that start the service, under several names, has added full wire-service coverage at a good price to news organizations and other clients.